Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Happiness is...


Happiness is..., originally uploaded by emdot.

Funny how old photos will sometimes slink back into your life. This photo has been beckoning me now for over a week. Lovely spring.

Other happiness is's:

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

What the world needs now is love sweet love


my first banksy, originally uploaded by emdot.

What the world needs more than anything is bodhisattvas, active servants of peace, “clothed,” as Longchenpa said, “in the armor of perseverance,” dedicated to their bodhisattva vision and to the spreading of wisdom into all reaches of our experience. We need bodhisattva lawyers, bodhisattva artists and politicians, bodhisattva doctors and economists, bodhisattva teachers and scientists, bodhisattva technicians and engineers, bodhisattvas everywhere, working consciously as channels of compassion and wisdom at every level and in every situation of society; working to transform their minds and actions and those of others, working tirelessly in the certain knowledge of the support of the buddhas and enlightened beings for the preservation of our world and for a more merciful future.

— Sogyal Rinpoche



and one more....

In Tibet we say: “Negative action has one good quality: it can be purified.” So there is always hope. Even murderers and the most hardened criminals can change and overcome the conditioning that led them to their crimes. Our present condition, if we use it skillfully and with wisdom, can be an inspiration to free ourselves from the bondage of suffering.

— Sogyal Rinpoche


So good. :)

Monday, September 06, 2010

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

a year and half late, but...

IMG_7633

i never watched Lost while it was the it-tv-show that the rest of the world watched and fretted over. steve and i only started it two months ago (give or take -- okay take -- two weeks). we tore through it. so delicious.

we watched season 1 through 5 like junkies do their drug of choice. another hit. another hit. another hit. more more more.

we finished season five a week ago and have to wait until tuesday for season six to be released on dvd to see the final season. this hiatus has given me time to think and ponder over the ending of season 5 and wtf it means and yadda yadda.

so while i know the rest of the human race has moved on, i'm stuck in that limbo that was may 2009 - january 2010. :) and i thought i would just write down one thought i have before i see the last season.

in season five we see jacob visit all of our lostaways back in the united states. kate and sawyer when they were still kids (kate steals the NKOTB lunch box; sawyer is writing his letter after his parents' funeral.) with the others they are adults. the receiving line of sun and jin's wedding. right before jack rats out his dad; right before sayid sees his wife killed in the crosswalk; right after hurley is released from jail.

what's it all mean, alfie?

so my guess is that jacob visits them all right before they lose their innocence and hope. .... jacob is the serpent. he hands our lostway protagonists the apple from the tree of knowledge, knowing they will take a bite.

i'll read this again after i see season six. i wonder if i'm right.

related: Television Without Pity recapper ponders the jacob meetings.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

the headstrong pachyderm


the headstrong pachyderm, originally uploaded by emdot.

my latest encounter with the elephant in the book stacks. (more pachyderm encounters of the photographic kind).



and making things come full circle... inbox. zero. elefante.

note to self

Monday, May 03, 2010

inbox zero

I'm a big believer in Inbox0 and I've also had great success with it. When my email inbox does begin to creep up (27, 53, 75, 108) I will admit to my life being less organized and I'm probably busier than I should be, too.

My inbox has been hovering somewhere between 70 and 78 for more than two weeks (probably more than a month as I was sick most of April). I knew I needed to tackle it -- and I did start, only to be met with a flurry of new emails.

Friday evening I'd made great progress. Monday morning I was wrapping it up. Gaining momentum. Picking 'em off, addressing the need, and moving on.

With 13 email left, I fired a reply to my student assistant (not yet in the office; probably in class) acknowledging a week-old email and thanking him for some insight and work.

His reply:
Somebody's on a mission towards Inbox 0.

I take it this email didn't help.

Jerry
He knows me very well. And no, the email didn't help. :)

And in the meantime another email came in, so once again: just 13 more to go! :)

Thursday, April 01, 2010

My Little April Fool's Project

April Fool's from the Kennedy Library

I blog and tell the whole story (lots of pictures, too) on my work blog, Autologic. Check it out! It really made my day. :)

Monday, March 29, 2010

oh my dear mr. bun


, originally uploaded by Automatt.

(actually, this photo is better without any of my trying-to-be-witty comments. i love this photo.) thanks, Matthew, for letting me blog this. :)

this is me taking photos on the floor

I am on a quest for a certain kind of photo of levis. So of course the first place I turn to is flickr. I do an advanced search. Creative Commons. Open to commercial use. Open to being modified.

Number one "most interesting" photo? MY PHOTO! Yea! Too bad it's not the photo I'm looking for. :)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Did they ask Chuck?


Did they ask Chuck?, originally uploaded by Kevin.

Love.

Cima on the Temblor Range


Cima on the Temblor Range, originally uploaded by Echo_29.

From Echo_29: their dog Cima romping through the wild flowers in the Carrizo Plain.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Carrizo Not So Plain


Carrizo Not So Plain, originally uploaded by emdot.

I shot over 500 photos on Monday. As you can see, how could I not?

Monday, March 22, 2010

Oh this is the squirrel in its neighborhood

the path to the squirrel is never straight but sometimes narrow

the path to the squirrel is never straight but sometimes narrow (detail)

it's rarely a straight path


it's rarely a straight path, originally uploaded by emdot.

so i woke up in a slightly crappy mood. not really interested in meditating. and then that kind compounded my crappy mood because here is the deal: doing what you say you are going to do helps alleviate a crappy mood. it just does. for me. and that is because it is a step of faith and commitment. as opposed to being a big talker.

i'm so done being a big talker.

and then i read this:

The practice of mindfulness defuses our negativity, aggression, and turbulent emotions, which may have been gathering power over many lifetimes. Rather than suppressing emotions or indulging in them, here it is important to view them—your thoughts and whatever arises—with an acceptance and generosity that are as open and spacious as possible. Tibetan masters say that this wise generosity has the flavor of boundless space, so warm and cozy that you feel enveloped and protected by it, as if by a blanket of sunlight.

— Sogyal Rinpoche
And so yes. I will sit.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Montana de Oro


Montana de Oro, originally uploaded by emdot.

Yesterday was lovely. There will be a host of photos. :)

Peekaboo Gull

crouching seagull hidden seagull

crouching seagull hidden seagull (detail)

my bird can't sing


my bird can't sing, originally uploaded by emdot.

i couldn't tell you why, but i really like this photo.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

in which i express my thanks to the poet who allows me to keep my head raised high while i write rhymes about my lunch and snacks

heart of palm

Ogden Nash we owe you mightly
For your verse compacted tightly

(What I'm struggling with omitting
Is a rhyme that's not quite fitting

Still if you had lived this time of blight
i'm sure you'd rhyme the slang ai-ight)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Lunch, redux

O Trader Joe's Green Burrito
So tasty hot, a little spicy
I've said before that you were neato
(And you'd go nicely with some iced tea)

(O Ogden Nash I owe you largely
for your rhyming of the ord'nry
I think this lunch would suit you smartly
tasty and it's alimentary)

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Two great new posts from Christine Kane

Truth be told, I could probably link to Christine's blog every damn time she posts because the whole thing is just one right on thing after the other. But these last two spoke a specific shazam into my being and so I share in case you need a specific kind of shazam, too.
  • Letting Go of the Cycle of Depletion
    I'm at a stage right now where I cognitively know I am afraid of "disappearing" when I accomplish my goals. By disappearing I really mean shaking the very foundation of everything I've built my life on. Those things you complain about? Sometimes those things are really cozy. They prop you up and remind you of Who You Are. What will you be if you don't have them anymore?
  • You Don't Have to Know How
    Imagine if your GPS responded with all doubts and boo hoos when you entered your destination.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Rich Color Crayon Extravaganza

Cool multi-colored crayons from somewhere in Japan. I hope these get imported pronto and somehow end up at a cute shop downtown where I can purchase them. (Via COLOURlovers.)

Motivational Reminder

Inspired by Derek Powazek's post about becoming a runner. Surely if Derek, who is a self-proclaimed couch potato, can do this daily, I can too.

(Note: I'm coming back from a foot injury that basically kept me from weight-bearing exercise; I've been finding restarting my program surprisingly difficult. I re-start tomorrow morning.)

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Fighting Exhaustion (and I want to win)


we'll deal with it later, originally uploaded by emdot.

So I've been tired. I'm tired when I get up in the morning; I'm tired when I get to work. I'm tired during the day; I'm tired when I get home. I seem a little disinterested in everything. Life is tasting a bit like a bowl of plain oatmeal and that is no way to live. Sure, it's enough to live on -- but it's not making a smile spread across my face.

So, I'm going to do an experiment for the month of February and will see if this helps.

For the month of February I am going to

  • Go to the gym before work, 5x/week
  • Eat a healthy breakfast (I already do this)
  • Focus on some happy thoughts (see below)
  • Walk for 10 minutes at lunch time
  • and Drink 2L of water every day


About the thinking the happy thoughts... I wish I had a better word for this. Martha Beck calls it treasuring and this is what it consists of:
Think of something your heart really years for. Now imagine that you have that thing, whatever it is. Spend 10 solid minutes imagining this with all senses -- what does it sound like, look like, feel like, taste like, smell like. 10 solid minutes.

That's it.
And that's what I'm going to do for February and I really really hope it brings me some more oomph. Some more get up and go (cuz my get up go seems to have got up and went. <-- I wish I made that up. Clever.).

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Shadow Man


52 Weeks: Week 4, originally uploaded by 7-how-7.

Wow. 7s is pretty much kicking some 52-weeks ass in this photo. I love this!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

winter in prairieland


Magpie, originally uploaded by Jean Albus.

god love flickr and all the wonderful glimpses it gives us into both the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Monday, January 25, 2010

kinda hit home with me


, originally uploaded by emdot.

It is only through disruptions and confusion that we grow, jarred out of ourselves by the collision of someone else's private world with our own. — Joyce Carol Oates

An ode to my breakfast


ottawa bagels., originally uploaded by heather.

Thank you dear bagel with jelly
You're tasty from my mouth to belly
You're doughy, you're sweet
You're so good to eat
Inspiring rhymes that are silly

Dear jelly on top of this bagel
A great meal to find at my table
Your sweetness is tasty
My eating is hasty
Devour? I'm willing and able

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Bad Buns Bad Buns, What you gonna do?


Don't let your jackalope, originally uploaded by 7-how-7.

All true. All factual. All proven. All documented. A must read for Travelers of the West: True Tales of Jackalopes Gone Bad. Learn the stories that the postcard proprietors don't want you to know.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

7s version: 52 Weeks: Week 3


52 Weeks: Week 3, originally uploaded by 7-how-7.

I love his 52 this week. :)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

a river ran through it


a river ran through it, originally uploaded by emdot.

Here you see the San Andreas Fault in action. Super slo-mo, but action nonetheless.

This is Wallace Creek, a (typically) bone dry shadow of a creek in the Carrizo Plain. At one point (back when it was still in diapers or perhaps just learning how to sound-out the words), Wallace Creek ran straight-ish. And then the earth shook and Wallace Creek moved a little. A couple hundred years later the earth shook again, and again, Wallace Creek moved a little. Over and over, every couple hundred of years.

The sign post says that eventually this spot will be in the same zip code as the golden gate bridge.

golden eagle from afar


golden eagle, originally uploaded by emdot.

Yesterday we ventured out to the Carrizo Plain again (so great out there). We saw a golden eagle from some distance. Slowed down to take its photo (it was on a pole), but it flew off when we rolled down the window.

Golden eagles are the third largest raptor on our continent (only bald eagles and California condors are bigger). Check out this set to see how big a golden eagle is in the hands of a human.

Friday, January 15, 2010

be the light or reflect it


her nose was itching, originally uploaded by emdot.

it's pretty easy. :)

There are two ways of spreading light...to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.

— Edith Wharton

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

avian flew


avian flew, originally uploaded by emdot.

Uh oh bird.

Monday, January 11, 2010

i loved this

From an email I got today (a several-times-a-week dealie from Shambhala).

Faith is a sense of dignity.The Christian mystic Meister Eckhart talks about faith in the sense of being awake: being present and mindful and aware of the situation. Faith is seeing things as they are -- whatever that might be -- precisely, directly, and without any hesitation.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

beauty in the devastation


charred sticks and ash, originally uploaded by Lynn.....

my friend lynnie recently visited the area of the station fire. this photo is so incredibly sad and moving. and yet hopeful, because i know it will grow back (with time). (and care.).

san simeon (1/52)


san simeon (1/52), originally uploaded by emdot.

52 Weeks is a Flickr project/group where one takes a self portrait each week for a year. Last year Orrin did it and I was in love with his project! I loved it so much -- and he had a big year as his first child was born. It was very inspiring. I've been thinking about doing this project for about a month. I'm starting with the new year.

What I wrote on Flickr


I took a photo each day this week, wondering which of the photos I would choose for my inaugural photo. I chose this one, which was taken off the side of Highway 1 in San Simeon California after 7s and I went to see the Elephant Seals in Piedras Blancas. Last day of Christmas Vacation.

I'm ridiculously excited about this year. Yea 2010! Yea new decade!

Week Highlights
  • New Year's Day
  • Taking the flags up
  • Seeing the elephant seals
  • Taking down Christmas
  • Going back to work
  • Hurting my back (ow!)
  • Sewing curtains
  • NY's lunch with Cami, Tom, Dan, Becky, Gregg, Doreen, Jim, Anna, Shane, Kaz, and Steve (on the 2nd, not the first cuz we were all pooped on the first)

Monday, January 04, 2010

unicorn chaser


super cute, originally uploaded by emdot.

for previous post. :)

this life. it will end.


Dancers at a gathering, originally uploaded by *CA*.

and that pisses me off.

and further impoliteness, i have recently said in other nether regions of the intertubes:

(meh. i shouldn't add a negative twist. i always loved getting older and then i passed some line -- not an age line but a ... hmmm... just a whatthefuck line and now i donotlikeitatall and age can gofuckitself and oh no now i'm just a typicalwoman. FUCK! arghh. poo. etc.)
whatevs. so sue me. that's a pretty honest insight into me who is usually abnormally pollyannaroseyglasses.